WATCH: Skate attacking inflatable vessel off Muckle Roe 

A fisherman had to pull teeth out of his inflatable vessel after a skate bit his boat in six different places. 

Paul Hutchison had been fishing in his Avon SR4 RIB boat on Saturday when he came across what he initially believed was a startled seal.

“I had moved inshore to catch a drift going north, so I wasn’t on the fishing ground, so I wasn’t fishing, I was sat having a cup of tea on the boat,” he said.

“Something splashed right at the side of the boat and I thought it would be a seal that’s come up and got a fright. It’s quite common for seals to come up beside you, not realise your a person on a boat and get spooked.”

However, the “seal” came up multiple times and bumped the bottom of the boat – after the fourth time it surfaced, Mr Hutchison heard a hissing sound and realised it was not a seal.

“I saw this kind of brown mottled colour, it was quite bizarre and I thought ‘I don’t know what it is’ so I started up the engine to make a bit of noise and banged on the boat a couple of times, but it was still coming up.

“I thought ‘I can’t go into gear and move away now because it comes near the engine I’m going to hurt it'”.

After it surfaced again, he realised it was a skate biting the vessel.

“I turned round and saw it biting the tubes of the boat. It let go and dived down, so I put the boat into gear and moved as quickly as I could.”

On his way back to shore, Mr Hutchison said the boat was “rapidly deflating” and by the time he reached the marina half the boat was deflated.

“I’ve got a bag of teeth I had to pull out the boat, they’re quite small but they’re absolutely razor sharp and when I looked at my boat when I got out the water I realised the skate had punctured it in six different places.” 

The skate was believed to be the flapper skate – which is considered to be a critically endangered species. 

Although the skate attacked his boat, Mr Hutchison stressed he did not want anyone to “go after it”. 

Shetlanders join Rosebank protest in Edinburgh 

Members of climate activism group, Shetland Stop Rosebank, joined a national demonstration in Edinburgh today (Tuesday), marking the beginning of a legal challenge against Rosebank oil field .

Drilling at Rosebank - slated as the UK’s largest untapped oil field 130 kilometres north-west of Shetland - was initially consented by regulators last September. 

Since then, the Supreme Court ruled regulators must consider the environmental impact of projects holistically: in Rosebank’s case including not only drilling and extraction itself, but also the eventual combustion of the oil.

Environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift have jointly asked the Court of Session in Edinburgh to revoke consent for Rosebank and the Jackdaw gas field near Aberdeen. That judicial review began today.

Sanjeev Prasad, 18, a medical student who grew up in Lerwick, attended a demonstration outside the court because he was worried about climate change.

“As a younger person, it’s my future,” Mr Prasad said.

“I’m from India, and I’ve seen how climate change can affects countries,” he added, from deadly flooding in Pakistan to Spain, more recently.

“Every time I go to Bangalore, which is the city I’m from, it’s hotter each year.”

Uplift and Greenpeace say the Rosebank oilfield will generate more CO2 than the 28 poorest countries in the world do each year.

Rosebank’s majority owners, Norway-based Equinor, say the development will support 2,000 jobs during its construction and more than 500 while it is operating.

Andrea Sanchez, a Bressay resident and climate activist, acknowledged the isles have a strong historical connection to oil and gas, but said it was important that locals also raised their voice in opposition.

“We are the closest to the oil field, and therefore it’s our voice that that matters the most,” Ms Sanchez said.

“There’s a lot of people here in Shetland that are in favour of oil and gas developments because we benefited a lot from from that in the past. However, there’s a few of us that are against [them] because we can see and we can understand the climate emergency.

“This doesn’t have implications just for Shetland or the marine area around Shetland, but it’s got implications for the whole world.”

Greens councillor Alex Armitage did not attend the protest, but said the legal challenge was an opportunity for the UK government to show “climate leadership globally,” just a few days before the start of COP29.

“Leaving Rosebank oil in the ground is Britain’s bargaining chip when we’re talking with other larger polluting countries,” Mr Armitage said. “They can see Britain as a climate hypocrisy while we continue to drill for oil.”

Swan Trust names David Abernthy as sail trainee of the year

A sail trainee from Eshaness has been awarded the Vevoe Trophy for outstanding dedication throughout the season. 

David Abernethy was presented the trophy – a replica of the Swan’s original wheel – along with a cold bronze casting of the Swan under sail, made by Terry Atkinson, Tingwall, which he is allowed to keep.

The skipper and the mate of the Swan decided that Mr Abernethy was the sail trainee of the year after careful thought. 

The vessel’s first mate Scott Sandison said the winner had been a keen member of the crew during the tall ships despite being one of the youngest on board.

“Over the next few seasons David has volunteered to help with the maintenance arriving every morning keen to find out what the day’s work will be,” Mr Sandison said. “He has become a trusted volunteer crewmate and a joy to have aboard.”

Since 2011, The Swan Trust has awarded the Vevoe Trophy to their Sail Trainee of the year. 

Commissioned by the Trust following a donation from the family of the late Willie Simpson, the Vevoe Trophy is named after the home of the Simpson family, Vevoe in Whalsay. 

Willie o’Vevoe, as he was known, first went to the herring fishing in the early 1950s aboard the Swan, a vessel his family were closely involved with for over 50 years of her herring fishing career.

Police investigate dangerous driving

Police are asking for information about a dangerous driving incident last month at Kergord Junction.

A silver SUV was seen on the A970 on Friday, 25th October, officers said on social media.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 with the reference  2943 of 25th October, 2024 .

Tributes paid for Remembrance Sunday

Tributes were paid to those who died in the First and Second World War at this morning’s Remembrance Sunday event in Lerwick.

Lord lieutenant Lindsay Tulloch, Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart and SIC convenor Andrea Manson led the laying of the wreaths at the County War Memorial.

This year marked 100 years since the memorial was unveiled in January 1924.

The memorial includes the names of 624 men who died in the First World War as well as 359 men who died in the Second World War.

Shetland Library receives national award

Shetland Library scooped a top national award in Edinburgh on Friday.

The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) annually celebrates the achievements of libraries across the country.

In the awards fourth year, Shetland Library won the Library Service Excellence Award after being recognised for its commitment to maintaining the service as a relevant, modern resource for folk of all ages.

Read the full story in next week’s Shetland Times.

County War Memorial to be lit up

The County War Memorial will be lit up as part of Remembrance Day commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of its unveiling.

Floodlights will be used to mark the centenary of the Hillhead statue, which has been in place since January 1924.

The losses from the four years of hostilities during the First World War greatly affected many communities across Shetland.

The memorial lists the names of 624 men who never returned home after peace was declared in November 1918.  And the side panels carry a further 359 names of those who died in the Second World War.

Since the unveiling, the memorial has been the principal location for local acts of remembrance, honouring those who have died in conflict.

The public are invited to attend the parade of remembrance and wreath laying at the County War Memorial, from 10.40am on Sunday, 10th November.

Fair Isle Ferry funding secured

Funding for the Fair Isle Ferry has been secured, following the uncertainty of last week’s budget.

Questions over the future of the project were raised after the Chancellor Rachel Reeves left out funding for Levelling Up schemes in her announcement to MPs in Westminster.

But the Scottish Secretary for Scotland Ian Murray confirmed in a letter to all local authorities about their funding for local growth initiatives.

Mr Murray said the UK government will be investing nearly £1.4 billion in dozens of important local growth projects across Scotland over the next 10 years – including almost £27 million for the Fair Isle Ferry development.

He said this would ensure economic growth is seen the length and breadth of the country.  

This was a “historic budget” for Scotland, Mr Murray said, adding it would “herald an era of growth.”

“Over the summer I wrote to every local authority to set out our commitment to building strong and trusted relationships so that together we can deliver the change our country needs,” he said.

“I am pleased to be able to write to them again to confirm their funding allocations.”

In recent weeks, the SIC said it was continuing its work on the project in the hope that a funding decision would soon be available. 

The council recently completed a tender process for the new vessel, which is hoped to replace the aged Good Shepherd IV.

According to the notice, the new, larger 24-metre load-on, load-off vessel would have the capacity for 12 people at an estimated cost of £5.7 million. 

Overall the project is expected to cost £40-45 million, with the bulk of the spend going towards harbour works in Grutness and New Haven, which are necessary to facilitate the new, larger vessel.